Disappointed U.S. Cancels Meeting with Russia, the Latter Now Also Disappointed

In the wake of Russia having forgotten the crucial political rule of putting bros before Snows, President Obama has canceled next month’s scheduled meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. However, the United States will still attend September’s Moscow-based Group of 20 summit, a “premier forum for international cooperation on the most important issues of the global economic and financial agenda,” according to its Web site. Or, in other words: international diplomacy’s winter Olympics. (International diplomacy’s summer Olympics? The actual summer Olympics.)

Quoth the White House concerning the blown-off meeting:

Given our lack of progress on issues such as missile defense and arms control, trade and commercial relations, global security issues, and human rights and civil society in the last 12 months, we have informed the Russian government that we believe it would be more constructive to postpone the summit until we have more results from our shared agenda. Russia’s disappointing decision to grant Edward Snowden temporary asylum was also a factor that we considered in assessing the current state of our bilateral relationship.

And now the Russian government is disappointed about the U.S.’sdisappointment. Per a Kremlin spokesperson: “We are disappointed with the decision of the U.S. administration to cancel the visit of President Obama to Moscow, which was planned for early September . . . This problem testifies to the remaining unpreparedness of the United States to build an equal relationship.”

L’Affaire Snowden has not seen such levels of professed “disappointment” and “unequal relationships” since the time Snowden himself absconded to Hong Kong without informing his longterm girlfriend of his plans. You’re not so different after all, U.S., Russia, and Snowden. Men! [Rolls eyes, gulps mimosa.]